Letter Lab
ڈڈال
Daal · /ɖ/, a retroflex d made by curling the tongue back so its underside touches the roof of the mouthLetter 12 of 38
Starts with this letter
ڈاکیاpostman
ڈبہbox
ڈوبناto drown, to sink
Trace over
Trace the whole letter
Draw the body of dal first: one continuous curve, top right shoulder pulling down to the left and bending into a tail that finishes back toward the right at the baseline. Do not lift the pen mid-curve.
For parents
ڈ is one of the six retroflex letters Urdu added to the inherited Arabic-Persian alphabet to write sounds that live in this region. The toay above is not decoration; it is the marker that says 'curl your tongue back.' If your child writes د instead of ڈ, the word loses its Urdu accent. Say the word out loud while they write so the ear and the hand learn together.
ڈ is one of the letters that makes Urdu sound like Urdu and not like any other script it borrows from. When your child draws the toay, they are placing the mark that says this language belongs to where they live.